McConnell Says He Won't Be 'Bullied' on $2K Checks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed Wednesday that he would not be "bullied" into holding a vote on increasing stimulus checks for $2,000. He blocked a vote on a House bill to boost payments despite pressure from Democrats and President Trump, who tweeted "$2000 ASAP!" Wednesday morning, the Washington Post reports. He also blocked a vote on Tuesday. "The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help," He said the standalone House bill to increase payments from $600 "has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate" and he would not split up a bill he introduced Tuesday, which also addresses Trump's demands for an investigation of alleged voter fraud and the repeal of the Section 230 Internet law.

The Senate will only consider "smart targeted aid, not another fire hose of borrowed money that encompasses other people who are doing just fine," McConnell said, per Politico. “The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them." Democrats, however, accuse McConnell of linking the issues to make sure the bill fails, the Hill reports. Any change to the bill would have to go back to the House, which has already left town. It will expire along with any other unfinished business when the term of the 116th Congress ends at noon Sunday. "There is no other game in town beside the House bill," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "Any modification to the House bill cannot become law before the end of this Congress. It's a way to kill, to kill the bill." (More economic stimulus package stories.)